Chapter 24

Who doesn't have a wild and reckless youth? And which young girl doesn't yearn for love?

On the way to the Lu family, Liu Jun had basically pieced together the old romance between him and the young Miss Lu from his memories. In the end, it was the young and reckless Liu Jun who met the young Miss Lu, who was in the bloom of her youth, and they fell in love at first sight, sparking a romance.

Liu Jun was originally known as "Erlengzi," a nickname that clearly indicated he wasn't a serious or honest person. Before he left home, he was supposed to be studying, but he couldn't focus on his books. Instead, he enjoyed playing with weapons and making friends. Over time, he became a well-known troublemaker in Macheng.

He was brave and skilled in fighting, and his fists were formidable. He was also generous and loyal, which made him the leader among the group of troublemakers. One day, Liu Jun and his brothers returned from a hunt and happened to see Miss Lu being verbally harassed by a few ruffians. He heroically saved her, beating up the ruffians, and this act left a deep impression on Miss Lu, who was deeply grateful.

At that time, Liu Jun was an eighteen-year-old young man in his prime, and Miss Lu was a beautiful young woman. Both had hearts that were stirring with the first blush of youth. Naturally, they began to see each other. Although the Ming Dynasty had strict social norms, they couldn't stop these two young lovers.

However, their relationship was kept secret. One day, Miss Lu's father suddenly accepted the betrothal gifts from the Zhou family in town and agreed to the marriage proposal.

At this point, Miss Lu was stunned.

She told Liu Jun about it, and he went to find the son of the Zhou scholar, beating him up and forcing him to return the betrothal gifts. The Zhou scholar's son agreed at the time, but then told his father, who went to see Miss Lu's father. The matter was exposed.

Miss Lu's father would never agree to her marrying Liu Jun. In the Ming Dynasty, children's marriages were decided by their parents, as stipulated by law. Private engagements were not only against the rules but also illegal and had no legal standing.

The son of the Zhou scholar also deeply loved Miss Lu. Even though he knew she had privately engaged herself to Liu Jun, he didn't give up and insisted on not returning the betrothal gifts.

According to Ming law, Liu Jun and Miss Lu's private engagement was invalid. The Zhou family had given the betrothal gifts, which legally bound the engagement and was protected by law. According to the Ming legal code, even if Liu Jun and Miss Lu had a child, the law would still rule that Miss Lu should marry into the Zhou family, as there were many precedents for this.

In the Ming Dynasty, such cases were uniformly called "wife-snatching cases."

Liu Jun, known as "Erlengzi," was very reckless. He took his brothers and went to find the Zhou family again, this time injuring the Zhou scholar's son more seriously, breaking his leg. The Zhou family reported the incident, and Liu Jun had to flee.

Before fleeing, Liu Jun went to see Miss Lu and agreed to elope together.

Liu Jun waited for Miss Lu at the Jushui River dock for a day and a night, but in the end, it wasn't Miss Lu who came, but her father and the constables. Liu Jun had to run away alone, eventually reaching the prefectural city. Later, he learned that Miss Lu had wavered at the last moment and told her mother about the elopement plan, leading her father to bring the constables.

In the end, Liu Jun's father paid a sum of money to the Lu family and bribed the officials, and the matter was settled.

After that, Liu Jun entered the Huangzhou Military Academy and became a military student, staying there for two years until he returned recently. Upon his return, he found that he had been replaced.

Two years had passed, and Miss Lu was now eighteen but still unmarried.

After the incident, the Zhou scholar was dissatisfied with Miss Lu and eventually returned the betrothal gifts. However, the Zhou scholar's son never forgot Miss Lu. Especially after Liu Jun broke his leg, leaving him with a limp and earning him the nickname "Zhou the Lame," it was difficult for him to find a suitable wife.

In the end, the Zhou scholar, unable to resist his son's wishes, reconsidered and proposed to the Lu family again, wanting to marry Miss Lu for his son. However, Miss Lu firmly refused, and her father was somewhat hesitant.

The matter dragged on for over two years, with the Zhou scholar's son insisting on marrying Miss Lu and Miss Lu refusing to marry.

It became a stalemate.

In the end, the Zhou family decided to kidnap her.

In fact, this kidnapping likely had the tacit approval of Miss Lu's father.

Kidnapping in marriage was not like the kidnappings by bandits. It often involved disputes over engagements. In late Ming Dynasty Jiangnan, there was a custom of kidnapping brides, usually because a woman was promised to two different families, and the final decision was made by kidnapping. Some cases involved disputes over betrothal gifts, and if negotiations failed, they resorted to kidnapping.

In most cases, once kidnapped, the matter was settled. However, some cases ended up in court, and even if a child was born, the court might still rule in favor of the other family, though this was rare.

This time, the Zhou family's kidnapping was not entirely a kidnapping.

But Liu Jun was not willing to stand by.

Damn it, no matter what, Miss Lu was once his old lover. Regardless of whether they still had a relationship, since she didn't want it, he couldn't let the Zhou family take her by force.

At the Lu family in Xibay.

Old Mr. Lu sat in the hall drinking tea, while his wife, Lady Xu, sighed deeply.

"Sir, isn't this bad for Qi?" Lady Xu said, feeling heartache at the thought of marrying her daughter this way.

"We are doing this for her own good. Otherwise, she will end up an old maid. In the past two years, many families have come to propose, but she refused them all. Those families weren't too good, and I didn't want to agree either. But the story of what happened back then has spread everywhere, and only the Zhou family is willing to propose again."

"It's all your fault."

"How can it be my fault? How was I to know that this stubborn girl would secretly engage herself to the Liu family boy, disgracing our family? If I had known, I wouldn't have agreed to the Zhou family's proposal. But since I did, I couldn't let her stay with the Liu family boy. Where did I go wrong? The wrong one is that girl." Mr. Lu said dejectedly.

If he hadn't broken up the girl and the Liu family boy, and the matter had gone to court, they would have lost. At the time, he thought it was a great thing that the Zhou family's son didn't mind his daughter's private engagement. If she could break up with the Liu family boy and marry into the Zhou family with dignity, wouldn't that be great?

Who could have predicted that they would break up, but in the end, his daughter refused to marry, and the Zhou family later broke off the engagement.

Fortunately, after more than two years, the Zhou family reconsidered and was willing to marry her. What reason was there to refuse?

"This time, we can't let that girl act recklessly. Even if we have to kidnap her, we must let the Zhou family take her back." Mr. Lu said firmly. If this didn't work, his daughter would really end up an old maid for the rest of her life.